


Gold Looks Best Against a Purple Backdrop

by Ki_no_Shirayuki



Series: Gintama Chromatic Chronicles [5]
Category: Gintama
Genre: Battle, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Clothing Porn, Crafts, Crossdressing, Demonic Possession, Gen, Humor, Kimono, Paralysis, Siblings, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-02-07 02:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12831051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ki_no_Shirayuki/pseuds/Ki_no_Shirayuki
Summary: Gintama Chromatic Chronicles entry #5: Purple.It seems that the kimono workshop the Odd Jobs are working as models for isn't all nice and beautiful like the clothes they make.Set afterWearing Yellow.





	1. Chapter 1

_Snap._

Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura were dressed in formal kimono, viewing full-bloom sakura trees.

Kagura ate all of the _hanami-dango_ in one breath, resulting in twitching eyes from her two friends.

_Snap._

They were in thin cotton yukata, sipping cold _mugicha_ and eating ice-cream by a goldfish pond.

Kagura accidentally kicked Shinpachi into the pond.

_Snap._

They were in regal Heian robes, re-enacting a Tale of the Bamboo Cutter scene under full moon.

"Hey, stop talking bullshit, author! Only Gin-san and Kagura-chan are in Heian clothing, while I'm dressed like a rabbit! Isn't this a bit unfair?"

_Snap._

They were wrapped head-to-toe in sashiko jackets and fluffy scarves, playing in the snow.

Gintoki and Shinpachi were turned into snowmen while Kagura grinned.

"Goddamnit! You just ruined the whole photo shoot!" Shinpachi shrieked, stomping his feet while Kagura just blew her nose into a richly decorated blue  _furisode_ , the closest piece of fabric she could get her hands on, "Stop blowing your nose into that! Do you have any idea how expensive that piece of clothing is? It has _gold_ on it! We're not gonna get paid…" he turned to the cameraman and the kimono craftswoman, "I'm sorry for everything. Kagura's having a cold, and…"

"It's okay, I like all of the photos. You did really good." said the craftswoman, Kinu Hasami, owner of the Nishiki-no-mai kimono workshop, "You can blow your nose on that kimono all you want. I don't like it anyway. I tried applying _surihaku_ on any fabric color other than purple, and that's what I get. It's a lesson for me — gold _only_ looks best on a purple background."

"This really is one awesome workshop you got there." Gintoki said, seeing the vast array of kimono around them, from the most elaborate formal ones fit for high-class geisha to simple bathrobes fit for hot and steamy times, both literally and figuratively. They were the stuff that would put the _yosakoi_ garb Gintoki found himself donning a few weeks ago to shame, "That's to be expected from the most popular kimono maker in Edo. It's quite shocking to see you of all people being nearly driven out of business to the point where you have to hire us as your models."

"Don't worry, it's not that bad." Hasami laughed, lacing her fingers into the shorter side of her asymmetrical hair, "It's true that Nishiki-no-mai's business has been on a steady decline thanks to competition from the Amanto, but we did make a few successes. We earned a hefty sum from crafting Takasugi Shinsuke's trademark kimono in [this story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10161218), and if we promote our workshop more, we may be able to get such commissions again."

Gintoki's eyes widened. "You? Made _Takasugi's_ kimono?" Hasami nodded. "And so what? Did he chop half of your hair off or something?"

"No, this is the newest asymmetrical haircut!" she immediately broke her gentle demeanor and started yelling, "You know nothing about latest hair fashion, so that's why you're such a permed idiot!"

"Stop it, you two!" Shinpachi yelled at both of them, "Kinu-san, Kagura-chan's blowing her nose all over those kimono! Do you want your workshop to be successful? Then stop her already!"

"It's okay." Hasami was right back to smiling again, "You can blow your nose on all of them, I can remake them. As long as it's not…"

Right then Kagura entered a concealed room all the way in the back, and a loud blowing noise could be heard coming from it.

Hasami froze.


	2. Chapter 2

The three raced into the room where Kagura was. Said room housed a plain grey yukata, so plain it almost beat Shinpachi's face in terms of nondescript-ness and looked definitely out of place in a kimono workshop like Nishiki-no-mai. Kagura's snot was already all over one of the sleeves, much to Hasami's terror. "Yo. What's up?" she casually asked.

"'What's up' my ass!" Hasami said, "That's… that's the Sacred Yukata! And you went and smeared snot all over it! This is going to be the end of us all!"

"Sacred?" the other three gasped at once.

"Yes! It contains the vengeful spirit of the previous owner of the workshop, my father Kinu Hari! If one so much as touches it, the spirit will be unleashed and…"

The trio took the garment from its rack and began stomping on it.

"Stop doing that! You're going to further anger the spirit that way!"

They tore the garment into pieces.

"I said, stop doing that! The spirit is probably going to destroy the entire workshop!"

They set the pieces on fire.

"Alright, that's it. You're fired! F-I-R-E-D! Fired! No modeling money for you! You've just unleashed apocalypse on all of Edo, thank you very much!" Hasami was in the middle of taking out all her rage on the three until the ground below them shook as though in an earthquake, and she went from angry to just as terrified as the other three were.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I was busy with some things.

"Please stop!" cried a tailor, his entire body save for his head bound tightly with a single length of cotton thread whose spool was in another man's hand. A pull on the thread was enough to cause the thread to tighten and bite into the victim's flesh.

"Why must I?" said the other man, bandaged fingertips tugging at the thread menacingly. A chilling look in his purple eyes, he reached for a pair of scissors nearby. He opened it, plucked a strand of his hair and placed it right on the edge of one of the blades. The hair snapped in half, "One more word and I'll cut you as easily as that strand of hair."

"Please! What has come over you, Yubinuki-san? I don't know what's happening! Please tell me!" the tied man cried again, but the man called Yubinuki had already turned his back to him.

"I don't know exactly what happened either, but I can feel power rushing through every fiber of my existence, which I would _definitely_ put to good use." he laughed darkly, knee-length blackcurrant hair tied in a shrine-maiden-like ponytail and black _haori_ coat flying like flags in strong wind as bolts of fabric placed about the room seemingly unraveled on their own. The long cloths flew toward him and wrapped around him before he himself turned into a length of fabric, flying away along with other ones in a swirl of silk and brocade.

* * *

Hasami and the Odd Jobs barely had time to understand anything when the _shōji_ door leading to the room slid shut at once. Hasami tried to open it, but it didn't budge even though she grinded her teeth and hurt her fingers pulling it. Shinpachi, Gintoki and even Kagura jumped in to help, but to no avail; the door was that strong. Just when the thought of giving up materialized in their minds, the door gave in and slid open, causing them to topple backwards.

Lengths of fabric of varying colors and materials flew in a waving motion into the room.

The door closed itself and once again stubbornly refused to move.

"What the…" before Hasami could utter the last word, she was tightly bound by a length of cotton like a cocoon within the blink of an eye, her head and the longer side of her hair being the only part of her body being free.

One of the cloths landed on the floor and materialized itself into a man with long blackcurrant hair and bandages around his fingertips.

" _Ani-ue_!" Hasami only managed to cry so much before the cotton binding her reached up and covered her mouth as well.

"Shh." Yubinuki whispered, approaching his sister. He produced a pair of scissors from his kimono, opening it and letting it gleam menacingly, "One more word and I'll turn that stylish asymmetrical hair of yours into a boring bob cut." he picked a portion of the longer side of her hair and gently placed it on the cutting edge of the scissors' blade, not even closing it. The strands just snapped cleanly and immediately as if on their own, dropping to the floor.

Hasami gulped.

Tense silence followed. Yubinuki eyed the three strangers behind his sister and then at the shreds of grey cloth on the floor. Then he understood. Stifling his laugh, he said, "I see, I see. It was these three over here who destroyed the Sacred Garment, wasn't it? Well, I owe you a sincere thank, because the ultimate power of a vengeful spirit – that of my father – is _mine_!" an unnerving smile was plastered across his face, "But first things first, I have to remove this obstacle preventing me from inheriting what I'm rightfully entitled to!"

"Over my dead body!" Yubinuki gasped; in a flash, it was not Hasami who was face-to-face with him, but Gintoki, sword out and poised agaisnt his neck. Behind him, Hasami was already freed from the cotton wrapping, which was finely sliced into little pieces.

"Gin-san, it's too dangerous." Hasami warned, "He is possessed by the ghost of our father, which grants him great power, as he said. You won't stand a chance against him!"

That said, Yubinuki magically vanished before the door between the room and the display outside slid open on its own, revealing the man now standing among numerous kimono racks.

"Bastard!" Gintoki cried, charging at him at full force, but something wrapped around his ankle, and he fell down face-first. He was then picked up, dangling with his head down in mid-air. He looked down — Yubinuki was deftly controlling the lengths of cloth like the arms of a giant octopus. Gintoki smirked — one stroke of his sword and the "arm" around his ankle was cut off. On his feet once again, he swung his sword at the cloths attempting to restrain him, and one by one they turned into useless shreds, scattered all over the place, "You're more naive than I think. What makes you think fabric can stand a chance against swords?"

In a cruel twist of irony, Gintoki felt his muscles going limp. He could no longer move his arms or legs, and so he found hinself on his knees, his legs heavy like lead, his arms hanging uselessly beside him.

There were tiny sewing needles piercing specific parts of his limbs.

"You're the naive one." Yubinuki laughed. Thin, almost invisible threads connected his fingertips to the needles, "Now that your limbs are immobilized by these needles' piercing specific pressure points on your body, how are you going to swing your sword? It's too late. Now prepare to…"

For a split second, his eyes met the glare from Gintoki's red eyes, and he too seemed to lose control of his own body. He grabbed at his neck as though being choked. There was not much he could do beside weakly letting out, "O… _Otoyo_ …" before the spirit of his father left him, and he fell down, unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

"No need to worry about my brother anymore, he's powerless now." Hasami reassured the other three as she carefully removed the needles from Gintoki's body. It would take a few days for his limbs to function normally again, and he _definitely_ wouldn't be able to fight any time soon, "He was originally going to inherit the workshop, but after he was exposed as a Joui sympathizer having engaged indirectly _and_ directly in terrorist activities, the inheritance was passed onto me instead. After our father died a tragic death, his spirit was sealed into a garment so boring no one would bother touching, but a spell was placed on it specifically to prevent my brother, who lusted after power, from getting near it. That is, until _you_ set foot into this workshop."

"We sincerely apologize." Shinpachi got on his knees and bowed as deeply as he could, all while moving away from Kagura bit by bit so as not to get her snot on him.

"That will never change the fact that you will still not get any money for modeling, but if you're truly sorry, you need to help me." she took out a photo from her coat pocket and handed it to Shinpachi and Kagura. The latter immediately broke down in helpless laughter as soon as she saw it, flinging snot all over Shinpachi's clothes, causing him to go berserk and start yelling.

The person depicted on the photo could only be described as a carbon copy of Gintoki, especially the red, lifeless eyes. The only difference there was was the slightly longer hair, which reached the shoulders.

"This is the one causing my father's demise, the woman named Toyo. Gin-san bears a striking resemblance to her, so when my brother saw his eyes, my father's spirit was reminded of her and the real reason for his rage, so he left my brother's body to continue his search for her." Hasami explained, throwing an irritated glance at Kagura, who still hadn't quite gotten over her bout of laughter, "After my mother died, my father frequented many bars and clubs around the Kabuki district and one day happened to meet her, who was working as a hostess at the time. He was smitten not with her, but her kimono, which he described as "a garment fit for a goddess". He tried to recreate it, but failed; he went to see Toyo again only to find that she had mysteriously disappeared. He went mad and died shortly after."

"Why, of _course_ he didn't fall in love with her!" Kagura said between giggles and coughs and sniffs, "Who can? She looks like she could be Gin-chan's twin sister!"

"Hey, that's not something very nice to say about both her and Gin-san!" Shinpachi scolded.

Hasami sighed, "Anyways, my father swore to search for her even to the end of the world, so if we find her and allow him to see her again, maybe it will calm him down so he would finally pass on to the afterlife. We need to hurry; he may have possessed a lot more people while we're sitting here talking."

And so the four of them, with Gintoki piggy-backed by Shinpachi, set out to find the woman.


	5. Chapter 5

It didn't take long before Mademoiselle Saigou Tokumori's  _okama_ bar was thrown into chaos. The man himself suddenly turned into a monster, practically trashing the room and beat several of his employees and customers senseless, tying them up with threads formed from his fingertips and paralyzing them with needles he got out of nowhere, leaving the few still conscious ones hiding shivering behind one of the toppled tables as he approached them. One of the employees, a man wearing a platinum wig and red contacts, was picked up by the collar before he had time to panic. He let out a yelp; upon hearing his definitely masculine voice, Saigou roared, " _You are not Otoyo_!" before throwing him to the ground rather unceremoniously. He looked at other people behind the table, then the ones sprawled out on the floor before his own eyes rolled back into his head and he too lost consciousness, collapsing to the floor.

"Well, technically my name is Yutaka, but since the kanji can also be read Toyo, you can call me that too." the platinum wig man said casually, eyeing the still shivering poor souls behind the table, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

* * *

"Oh, I have heard about her. She must be Otoyo-san, the former star of this hostess club before I started work here." said Otae as the photo of the woman was shown to her. Hasami sitting at a far end of the couch had to shift closer inward to make way for yet another gravely injured person being carried on a stretcher out of the bar into the ambulance outside.

"Oh sheesh, what's happening here? Did a gang of robbers break in or something?" Gintoki had to shout over the ambulance siren as more and more unconscious people were carried outside (except Kagura who thought a stretcher a palanquin and refused to get off one and demanded she be carried "like the Queen of Kabuki district". She was then promptly and _literally_ thrown off the stretcher).

"We heard of a series of attacks taking place in various bars around the district, so I had to take care of anyone suspicious." Otae said.

" _You_ are the number one suspect, sis." Shinpachi replied, "But the only way to stop the attacks is to find this woman and show her to the evil spirit who is looking for her. Good thing you know her. Do you have any idea where she is?"

"She is dead." said Otae, expression remained unchanged.

Silence followed.

"What do you _mean_ she is dead? No, no, this is the worst. How are we going to stop my father now?" Hasami panicked.

"Otoyo-san used to work here and become the top hostess in order to earn money to make ends meet and to search for her long-lost nephew. Unfortunately, an illness forced her to retire, and no one has heard of her or remembered her ever since. She may be well dead, as far as I know. Such a shame, she was quite popular for a time."

Nobody heard the latter half of the story. They were too depressed to care.


	6. Chapter 6

_So this is their big plan, huh?_ Gintoki thought. He was irritated as fuck – even if his arms weren't paralyzed, the brocade _furisode_ he was stuffed into was so thick, there was no way to scratch at the itch he was unfortunately getting. That, and the fact he was _wearing_ a furisode in the first place.

"Stop moving your head, stupid Gin-chan!" Kagura said, the lipstick she was applying on him smearing on his cheek for the nth time.

"I would, if you could just stop sneezing in my face!" he yelled in response. Oh, how he wanted to wipe the snot off his face. Stupid sick Kagura and stupid paralysis, "Damn it, this is like episode 24 all over again, only much worse. So this is your plan? Dressing me up as that woman to trick your father's ghost into believing I'm her, so he can finally move on to the afterlife?"

"Unfortunately yes. We have no other choice. Luckily you happen to look like her. Just bear with me on this" said Hasami.

"And you better pay me well after all this embarrassing shit is over! I swear, I can hear the stupid fucking author squealing from way over here with that girly-dude fetish of hers. She's going to write another fic featuring a girly dude, I heard…"

"Okay, fine, I will pay you, now please kindly shut the hell up!" When Gintoki was perfectly dolled up (thank Gods Shinpachi was kind enough to clean up the nasty snot), they were about to set out to find the latest host of Hari's spirit… only to stop dead in their track when Hasami began choking, grabbing and eventually scratching at her throat as though an invisible somebody was holding it.

"Kinu-san!" Shinpachi rushed to her side only to be rudely shoved aside. He looked up; it was still Hasami alright, but it seemed something was off with her. A spine-chilling glow emanated from her eyes, amd her mouth curled all the way upwards into a wicked grin.

She said, her voice now raspy and dry, " _I have found you, my dear Otoyo!_ "


	7. Chapter 7

It was best not to stop her, or rather her father in her body. It was exactly what they planned, after all. Yet, Shinpachi and Kagura, hiding behind one of the display stands, couldn't help but feel disturbed as the possessed Hasami inched closer to Gintoki, who couldn't do much beside minimally shifting backwards by the buttocks. He kept it all under his usual cold facade, but he was screaming inside as Hasami approached even closer and all but climbed on his lap.

"You're lovely as always, Otoyo." she cooed, "Come on, don't be shy. Don't you always like sharing with me about your lovely nephew? I'm sorry I couldn't bring him to you as promised, but I assure you, he is well and has grown up into a fine young man last time I saw him. I swear, he could be a carbon copy of you; I thought he was you crossdressing! But he was hanging around those kiddy manga bookstores. Seriously, I never expected a grown man like him to be interested in that kind of stuff. But enough of that." Hasami laughed and began touching Gintoki. He had to concentrate all his willpower not to let out a single whimper; let out his voice and the plan would go to hell, "Now, show it to me."

Gintoki looked confused.

"Your kimono. Show it to me." she said, "That splendid _furisode_ you wore the first time we met. I never saw you wearing it again after that day, and the greatest wish of my entire life is to see it again! You know it, you know it too well, Otoyo."

It was then the Odd Jobs remembered a detail they forgot in their plan. _The darned kimono_. Hari was in love with _it_ , not Toyo. The plan was completely and utterly fucked.

Hasami continued, her voice changing from seductive to threatening, "Remember what I did to you the last time I saw you and you were still not wearing it?" she raised her hand to his face, and the thumb and index finger turned into sharp scissor blades, "I took you into the back alley and wounded you with my tailoring scissors, and I will very well do it to you again if you don't show it to me. Now, _where is your kimono_?"

Watching the ordeal unfold before their eyes, Shinpachi and Kagura were rendered speechless until, having come to a realization, Kagura blurted out, "I get it. Otoyo didn't die from her illness, Hari killed her. He is going to kill Gin-chan at this rate! We have to stop him!"

Instantly, two scissor blades flew in their direction, barely grazing their ears.

" _You_!" Hasami growled, eyes glowing brighter than ever, "You conspired against me!"

"Gin-san, run!" Shinpachi shouted.

"Like hell I can!" Gintoki replied, referring to his immobilized limbs. That caught Hasami's attention, and she turned to him.

"You… you are not my Otoyo, and you were tricking me! For that, _you must pay_!" all her fingers turned into scissor blades, the longer side of her hair grew to massive lengths and turned into cloth like a giant multi-headed snake. The grin on her face went from wicked to _monstrous_. Before Gintoki could even gasp, one of the hair-cloth rudely grabbed him and threw him all the way across the room, knocking over several display stands in the process.

"Gin-san!" Shinpachi called, but both he and Kagura were grabbed and suspended mid-air by two lengths of cloth. Helpless, they had no choice but to watch Hasami approach Gintoki, who was under three toppled stands and couldn't even push them off his body. The only thing he could do was wait for his demise at the hand of the possessed woman, cloth tentacles growing from her head and gleaming blades from her fingertips.

But suddenly she stopped.

"What happened?" Gintoki asked himself. Kagura and Shinpachi was also released, dropped rather unceremoniously to the floor. Hasami crouched down, examining one of the kimono burying Gintoki underneath.

"Yes, this is it! This is exactly it!" Hasami said, hands caressing the very same blue _surihaku_ kimono she rejected and Kagura blew her nose on earlier, "The garment fit for a goddess! It looks even more beautiful than the last time I saw it." she held it up, examined it, ran her fingertips over every detail, every golden pattern, until consciousness, and with that the power of a vengeful spirit, left her, and slowly she transformed back to normal.

She woke up moments later, puzzled. "What happened? Did we succeed?"

"Yes, we did!" Shinpachi said, relieved, "Your father liked the garment you thought was ugly. It seems you have made your father proud of your skills. Isn't that wonderful?"

The three of them went and helped Gintoki up from under the clothing and display stands piled on him. One could say all was well again at this point, but Gintoki had something puzzling him, "What your father said about Toyo's nephew; can it be?…"

**The End.**


End file.
